The Cattleman's Pages of History

The Cattleman cover was a photograph of a pen of Herefords, possibly ready to load up for shipment. The animals are on high alert as they stand bunched in a corner.

➤ James Callan, then president of the Cattle Raisers Association of Texas (TSCRA), wrote an interesting article on the beef industry and the possible dietary change in the habits of Americans. Callan said, “…Beef must be known to be healthful to stimulate consumption, which in turn will stimulate production. We have no publicity to that end. There is prodigious publicity on the other side tending to change…the dietary habits of the nation.” The beef industry rose to the challenge with organizations such as the Texas Beef Council and PAC, among many others.

➤World War I was still in progress and Callan also noted: “Beef must be eaten. Mistaken patriotism on the part of the public may cause serious injury to the Livestock Industry of the Nation. They have been told that beef is food for fighters, and we must save it for our soldiers and our Allies. They have not been told that approximately 70 percent of the cattle slaughtered by the packers do not meet the weight requirements of the Army, Navy and our Allies, and that it is important that every pound of this beef not needed for the purposes of war be consumed at home. To protect our industry, we must deliver this message.”

The Cattleman cover was a photograph by Paul W. Horn, showing “bred heifers in one of the big pastures at Bridwell Hereford Ranch near Windthorst, Texas… Grass has been excellent this spring and summer and these Herefords are taking full advantage of it.”

➤ Five million Spaniards had an opportunity to see 12 head of American Hereford, among 32 head of U.S. cattle on exhibit at the famous Feria del Campo in Madrid. The exhibit [was] sponsored by the USDA in an effort to stimulate interest in the importation of U.S. cattle.

➤Another article in the series “Legends Almost Forgotten,” by Jon McConal, tells of two disgraced marines from New Orleans who lived 120 years apart. The first was a hot-tempered mutineer and murderer, the second, Lee Harvey Oswald. According to the legend, “just as [Oswald] was apprehended within a few hours after the assassination of President Kennedy, so were the sergeant and his cronies. Four met their fate on the gallows on the San Antonio [the ship] in April 1843. But the marine escaped prison a month before the sentence. He vanished into bustling New Orleans, the city in which Lee Harvey Oswald was born nearly 100 years later. The marine’s name — Seymour Oswald.